


Cœur l’fantôme

by MinnieTheMoocherDA



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-09 14:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17408822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinnieTheMoocherDA/pseuds/MinnieTheMoocherDA
Summary: Nathalie is kidnapped and held for ransom. Unable to loose her as well as his wife, Gabriel uses his abilities as Hawk Moth to try and rescue her. Meanwhile Adrien is worried about the disappearance of the woman who is the closest thing he has to a mum, so as Chat Noir he enlists the help of Ladybug to try and find her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N. Hi! I recently binged watched Miraculous and now I'm obsessed. As such I've never written for this fandom before so I'm sorry if anything feels out of character. I hadn't seriously thought of this pairing until Nathalie hugged him then I had jump on board! I hope you guys enjoy! And thank you to RoninReverie for all their help with this story! Xxxxxxxxxxx

Nathalie supposed she should have expected this. It would have been impossible for someone to kidnap Adrian since he was never out of sight of Gorilla when the boy wasn’t at home or school. And as the person closest to Gabriel Agreste after his son, she was the most obvious target.

She had barley taken a few steps out of her apartment, too exhausted after everything that had happened recently and too distracted by the schedule on her iPad in front of her to notice, when someone shoved a damp rag against her mouth.

She coughed as her senses returned to her. Judging by the windowless concrete walls surrounding her, she guessed that she was in a basement. When the blurred shape of the walls didn’t refocus, she realised that she wasn’t wearing her glasses. She tried to reach up her hand to rub her temple only to discover that she couldn’t move. She looked down to find that she was tied to a chair. By this point her coughing had turned into a gasping wheeze. She’d had a cough ever since she had used the peacock miraculous. But whatever her kidnappers had drugged her with had made it worse. 

Not for the first time she wished Gabriel had let her keep the miraculous. Then she could’ve gotten herself out of this mess.

“Aww, got a cold do ya sweetheart?” A voice said from behind her. A moment later the owner walked into her line of vision. He was a large Caucasian man with a shaved head and a tattoo covered face. He was followed by two equally large men. Both of whom carried a pair of handguns.

Nathalie might not have been in as dire situation as this before, but she was well used to keeping calm under pressure. So she kept her eyes and face as emotionless as she could as her wheezing died down.

“I’m fine.” She told them calmly.

The man who has spoken walked slowly towards her. Once he was directly in front of her, he leaned down until his face was barley inches away from her own.

“And as long as everything goes my way then you should continue to be.”

“If you allow me to call my boss then I’m sure we could come to some sort of compromise.” She said, trying not to flinch.

The man laughed. It was nothing like Gabriel’s that was full of excitement and joy. No, this man’s was like the empty bark of an ice sculpture.

“That’s the idea sweetheart.”

…………………………………………..

“Hey Adrien! Me and Alya were going to go to get some ice cream later. You in dude?”

Adrien looked up from his desk to the sight of Nino standing in front of him. Alya was standing at his right and Marionette on his left.

“That sounds fun, although I kind of feel like I’d be a third wheel.” He replied.

“Don’t worry you won’t, because Marinette is coming too. Right Marinette?” Alya said in that knowing tone she often used around her best friend that Adrien still didn’t understand the implications of.

Marinette froze like an ice-cream sculpture before throwing her arms wide, nearly knowing his backpack off the desk

“Err yeah ice-cream! That sounds cold! I-err I mean cool!” She cried. Adrian smiled. He always found it sweet how excited she became over things.

“Then sure I’d love to come. Just let me check with my father and I’ll message you if I can go.”

“Awesome my dude! Catch you later! You know hopefully!” Nino said. Adrien watched as he put his arm around Alya’s waist before walking out of the classroom. Once again, he wondered how it would feel to hold Ladybug like that.

Shaking the daydream out of his head, he picked up his bag and was about to follow his friends out when he felt someone barrel into him, knocking his bag and all its contents onto the floor.

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!” He looked up to see Marinette staring at him with those wide embarrassed blue eyes. She must have tripped over her own feet again. He swore that girl could trip over anything.

“It’s fine. It was an accident.” He said as he knelt down to gather up his stuff.

“I know but still I’m really sorry!” the girl stammered as she hurried to help him.

He smiled at her, hoping that it would calm her down.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” It seemed to have worked as she stayed perfectly still, alternating between staring at his eyes or lips. Once he had finished he offered his hand to help her up. Gingerly she reached up and accepted his help, her face a blossoming red. Adrien figured she still must have felt embarrassed.

“So, are you excited to go to Andre’s?” Adrian asked as they walked out of the classroom, wanting to bring the girl out of her shell.

Marinette opened her mouth as though to speak before apparently deciding not too and instead nodded vigorously.

“Me too. I’ve only been once but that was by myself. It would be fun to go with some friends.” _And ladybug_ he added to himself. He thought back to the red, black and blue ice-cream Andre had given him. Maybe one day he could take Ladybug there and Andre would make her a black, green and yellow one.

Eventually they made it to the school entrance. Adrien cringed at the loud honking of the car that was waiting for him. He sighed. He was three minutes and 37 seconds late. Against the odds he wished Nathalie didn’t tell his father.

He turned to Marinette.

“Bye. Hopefully I’ll see you later!”

She waved at him as he raced down the school steps.

“Sorry I’m late Nathalie.” Adrien started as he sunk into the car seat. “I dropped my bag and- “

He cut himself off as he looked across to find the seat next to him empty. That was strange. Nathalie always rode with him on the way home school. Sure, sometimes she had emergency meetings, but she would have messaged him if that was the case.

“Do you know where Nathalie is?” Adrien asked Gorilla.

His bodyguard grunted as he shook his head. He didn’t really expect Gorilla to know but the answer still worried him. Maybe it was just all the events that had happened since he’s become Chat Noir that was making him paranoid. But he couldn’t help but have a feeling that something was wrong.

He called her mobile but there was no answer. He rung it again, but she still didn’t pick. He told himself that she was probably busy or stuck in a meeting, but he didn’t believe it. Out of options he called his father, but he wasn’t surprised when he didn’t pick up.

With nothing else he could do from where he was stuck inside his father’s car, he rested his head against the cooling window and waited. The car ride home felt long in the painful silence. Usually Nathalie would ask him about his day at school like his Mum used too. It felt nice for someone to care about him, even if Nathalie’s questions were more focused on his grades than if he’d had fun.

He tried to start a conversation with Gorilla, but he wasn’t surprised when he got nothing more than a few grunts out of the man. So, he went back to staring out of the window, hoping that at the next turn they would be outside his house where Nathalie would be waiting for him.

……………….

Gabriel Agreste paced the length of his study. For the first time ever, Nathalie hadn’t shown up for work this morning. At first, he thought that maybe she was exhausted and had overslept. He had noticed her seeming more tired ever since she had used the peacock miraculous. He had tried calling her multiple times to no avail.

He stopped in his tracks as a sudden thought pierced his mind. _What if Nathalie had been forced into a coma too like his precious Emilie? But Nathalie had only used it once when Emilie had been using it for years, surely that wouldn’t have been enough to affect her?_ he tried to rationalise to himself with little success. Now that the thought was planted he couldn’t get it out of his head.

He was driven from his thoughts when he heard the sound of his car arriving outside. Remembering that Nathalie usually accompanied his son on the ride home, he tried to appear calm as he headed to the front door.

The door opened as Gorilla held it open as his son walked in. But there was no sign of Nathalie.

“Adrien have you seen Nathalie today?” Gabriel asked trying to keep his voice steady.

His son looked up at him with his mother’s worried eyes.

“I was going to ask you the same thing father.”

He clenched his fists.

“Gorilla. I want to you to head over to Nathalie’s apartment to check if she’s alright. I don’t care if you have to break down doors to do so.”

The ape of a man nodded at his orders and immediately headed back to the car.

“Do you think Nathalie’s alright father?”

He forced himself to unclench his fists as he looked at his son.

“I’m sure she’s fine Adrian. Now go practise your piano.”

“Actually father, my friends wanted to meet up after school for ice-cream at Andre’s so I- “

“No! You are to stay in your room until I say you can leave.” Gabriel shouted. With his worry over Nathalie, he needed to know his son was safe.

“Yes father.” His son answered before heading off to his room with an even more disheartened demeanour than usual. But Gabriel didn’t have time to worry about his son’s feelings right now.

 He headed back to his study and was about to call Gorilla to find out if he was there yet when his computer alerted him that he was receiving a video call from Nathalie’s iPad.

Breathing out a sigh of relief he composed himself before pressing accept.

“Nathalie, where have you- “

His voice stopped when he realised that the bald-headed man on his screen wasn’t Nathalie.

“Sorry, Nathalie can’t come to the phone right now. She’s a little tied up.” The tattoos on the man’s face curled when he smiled. He moved aside to reveal Nathalie strapped to a chair with two-gun wielding men enclosing her. Gabriel felt his heart stop before it was seized by panic.

“Who are you? What have you done to her? What do you want?” He demanded.

“You can call me John. Don’t worry she isn’t hurt and if you do as I say then she will stay that way. As for what I want, it’s not much really. Only fifty million euros.”

“Don’t give it to him Mr Ag- “

Nathalie was cut off with an echoing slap. The imprint of his hand was stained red where ‘John’ had hit her. For the first time in his life, Gabriel saw her mask of patience slip to one of terror.

“Nathalie…” he breathed involuntary.

“You have twenty-four hours to give me my money and for every hour you don’t...” John punched her in the stomach. He watched in horror as Nathalie keeled over her stomach and started to wheeze again.

“So, don’t keep me waiting. And of course, I don’t need to tell you not to call the police. Because you know what will happen if you do.” John warned, that same smile tattooed onto his face before he cut off the connection.

As soon as he was gone, Gabriel punched the computer, breaking the screen in two. Ignoring the blood trickling from the cuts on his hand, he stormed over to Emilie’s portrait. He had already lost his wife. He wasn’t going to lose Nathalie as well.

…………………………..


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thank you all so much for the comments! I was not expecting to get so many! I hope you like this chapter as much as the previous one. And once again thanks to RoninReverie for the help with the plot and villain name. Xxxxxxxxxxx

Nathalie watched as the man who called himself John ended the call. Slowly he turned around to face her with that sickening grin.

“Now all we have to do is wait. I hope he gives me my money soon. I would hate to get bored.”

Nathalie took a deep breath. She tried to keep her wheezing under control as well as also keeping her body and expression as still as possible.

“He’s not going to give you the money.” She told him simply. 

John prowled over to her. He then lifted up his right hand that Nathalie saw was still red from the impact of her face and cupped her jaw. It was hard for her not to immediately recoil at his touch.

“For a pretty face like you, I have a feeling he will.”

……………………..

From his lair Gabriel managed to control his shaking fingers long enough to call Gorilla.

“Are you at her apartment yet?” He asked as soon as he picked up.

Gorilla grunted in affirmation.

“Is she there?”

Through the phone Gabriel could hear the sound of a door being kicked down followed by various scrapes and bangs. A minute later Gorilla gave a grunt of disappointment.

Gabriel felt the glass of his phone crack in his hand. But he stopped before he could snap his phone. He needed to keep himself together for Nathalie’s sake. Besides, a man like him always had a back-up plan.

“What kind of bodyguard are you if you let Nathalie disappear from right under nose? If you can’t protect her then why should I trust you to look after her my son? You’re fired!” He ended the call before he could hear the man’s reply.

A few moments later he felt the familiar agony of someone else’s pain.

“A bodyguard fired from the job that gives his life purpose. What perfect prey for my little akuma.”

Gently he cupped one of the butterflies that surrounded him and infused it with his energy before releasing it into the outside world. Not long after he experienced a surge of power as he found his target. Through the eyes of Gorilla, he saw Nathalie’s apartment that had been turned inside out as the man had searched for her. He promised himself that after he found her, he would have someone refurbish it for her.

“Gorilla, I am Hawk Moth. From now on you will be known as Cœur l’fantôme. You were not able to find your boss’ assistant, so I will give you the power to do so.”

His power grew as he consumed his prey. He saw the transformation in the reflection of Nathalie’s mirror. His design was genius. Emilie would have loved it.

He smashed the mirror.

…………………..

“Maybe she just went out to get some camembert?” Plagg suggested as he stuffed another slice of said cheese into his mouth.

Adrien shook his head. He pressed play on the piano music on his iPod before calling Nathalie yet again only for it to go to voice mail.

“No. Nathalie doesn’t just pop out for stuff. She has every second of day planned for the next few months. Or more likely the next few years. She’s never missed a day of work even when she was really sick, and father had to send her home. I think something bad has happened to her. Even father is worried about her.”

“You can tell when your father is displaying different emotions?”

“Sometimes.” Adrien sighed as he lay down on his couch. “And trust me, he was really worried.”

He thought back to the time when Nathalie tried to convince his father to let him go to school and invited his friends’ round for Christmas. She might not always have succeeded but she tried to help him which was more than most people, especially his father. He didn’t know what he’d do without her.

“Well what’s point of being a superhero if you can’t help the people you care about. You should go out and find her.” Plagg said interrupting his thoughts.

Adrien jumped from the couch with new found enthusiasm.

“You’re right Plagg. Claws out!”

“Wait! I meant after I finished my camember-ahhh!” the kwami cried as he was sucked into his ring.

Once he transformed, he texted Nino to apologise for not making it for ice-cream and called Ladybug.

“Hello m’lady. I received a tip off that someone could be in danger. Meet me at the usual spot.” He said as he jumped over the rooftops of Paris.

“I’m on my way.” He heard Ladybug say before she ended to call.

He hopped over a nest of pigeons that followed him for a while as he ran.  He leaped between them until he came to the rooftop opposite the fountain near Marinette’s bakery. He watched them carry on their path. He may be allergic to birds but sometimes he was jealous of their ability to fly away.

“What’s up pussycat?”

He turned around to see the beautiful face of his Ladybug standing in front of him. He then shook the thought from his head. His feelings for Ladybug would have to wait.

“I believe Nathalie Sancoeur assistant to fashion designer Gabriel Agreste is in danger.”

“Then we need to find her “Ladybug said, trusting his word immediately. _Just not enough to entrust him with her secret identity,_ a voice in the back of his head added.

“Who told you she was in danger?”

“Adrien Agreste.”

“Adrien Agreste?” Ladybug squeaked, her eyes widening as her arms flailed outwards. For some reason the action reminded him of someone. “You know Adrien?”

“No!” He shouted before quickly composing himself. “I mean no I don’t. I was just passing by the neighbourhood and he called to me from his window.”

“Oh.” She said, her appearance deflating. “So, you wouldn’t know about his feelings towards any of his friends then?”

“Err no?” Chat Noir answered, unsure what exactly Ladybug was asking. At least she didn’t seem to have discovered his secret identity. “Although he seemed like a decent guy. I’m sure he loves all his friends equally.”

“Yeah I’m sure he loves them as friends.” Ladybug said with a sigh. Before Chat could ask what was wrong she shook her head and resumed her usual confident demeaner. “It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that we find Nathalie. Adrien is counting on me- err us. And we don’t want to let any of our citizens down. Any ideas where we should start?”

“Her apartment would make sense.” He suggested.

“Perfect. Wait do you know where it is?”

“Yeah err Adrien told me. Come on. We should hurry.”

But before they could move the world was plunged into a flash of darkness.

…………………….

Nino looked at the beautiful girl sitting on the bench beside him. As bummed as he was that his best bud’s old man wasn’t letting him go out, being able to spend more time alone with his girlfriend was a more than acceptable compromise.

“Marinette told me she didn’t want to go out now that Adrien’s not coming.” Alya grumbled at her phone. Nino smiled. He was always amazed by Alya’s dedication to helping their two best friends get together. They would be perfect for each other if it wasn’t for Adrien’s total obliviousness and celebrity crush on Ladybug.

Nino took her phone out of her hands much to her protest and replaced it with Andre’s ice-cream.

“You spend so much time trying to make other people happy which is one of the many things I love about you. But you need to take time to make yourself happy too.” He said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He marvelled at her blush as she leant against his shoulder

“Thank you Nino. I need to hear that.”

“No problem girlfriendette.” He leant his head against hers and closed his eyes. However, when he opened them, he found the entire world had become black and white with the shadows much more elongated than they should be for this time of day, and the contrast between the darkness and light exaggerated.

He turned to face Alya who’s shock, and confusion mirrored his own. So it wasn’t just his eyesight playing up. Then that would mean-

“It has to be another akuma attack.” Alya said finishing his thoughts.

Immediately the pair jumped off the bench in an attempt to spot the akumatized villain. But they couldn’t see anyone obviously transformed anywhere.

“I think the colours started changing from there.” Ayla said pointing at a row of apartments over the bridge before rushing off in that direction.

“Wait!” Nino cried grabbing her hand. “Shouldn’t we be heading in like the opposite direction. We haven’t got our Miraculous on us. It could be dangerous.”

“I know. But even without our Miraculous we could still help. Besides I want to get another scoop for my Ladyblog.”

Nino allowed himself to be pulled along by her. That was one of the other things he loved about her. Her desire to help.

They ran over the bridge to the apartments, but they couldn’t see anyone there. Nino was about to suggest heading somewhere else when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye.

“What did you see?” Alya asked, noticing his reaction.

“I dunno. I thought I saw something over there.” He pointed at the middle of the road where a band of light separated the shadows from the buildings surrounding it. A moment later, a dark figure wearing an oversized jacket and hat crossed between the shadows before disappearing. His shape was too large and angular to be human.

“I think we just found our new villain.” Alya stated. She brought out her phone using her free hand and started live streaming. “Come on.”

Nino followed her, hoping that Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived before she got them into trouble.

………………………….

Chat Noir started at the world of black and white around him. It reminded him of the noir movies his mum used to star in.

“What’s going on?” He wondered out loud.

“I don’t know. But I bet you my yo-yo it has something to do with Hawk Moth.”

“Well then I bet you a date that it doesn’t.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. They both knew he probably wasn’t going to win. He watched as she brought up the news channel on her yo-yo.

“This is Nadja Chamack with a special live report. Paris has been transported back in time to a 1950s noir film with the entire city now being rendered in black and white. While this has the trademark stamp of Hawk Moths handiwork there have been no confirmed sightings of an akuma victim so far.”

“Maybe Alya spotted something.” Ladybug said, switching to the ladyblog.

“For those just joining us, we here on the ladyblog believe we may have found Paris’ latest supervillain.”

The camera showed the black and white street in Paris’ more derelict district. A moment later a figure who’s features seemed to almost be made of shadows appeared in the light. It could have been an ordinary man if it wasn’t for the unnatural way he turned invisible in the shadows.

“I wonder why he hasn’t attacked yet.” Chat Noir said. Hawk Moth usually made it dangerously obvious where his victims were to attract their attention, so he could steal their miraculous. Was he finally changing his plans?

“I don’t know. But I’d rather we defeat him before we find out.” Ladybug replied.

“But what about Nathalie?” Chat asked quickly.

Ladybug sighed.

“I’m sorry. The safety of everyone in Paris outweighs the needs of one person who we don’t know for certain is in danger. I promise that as soon as this is over we will find her.”

Chat Noir nodded reluctantly in understanding. He knew the decision was hurting his Ladybug too. It was her nature to try and save everyone. To put other people’s lives over someone else’s must be destroying her. But they both knew it was the right thing to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thank you to all of your comments, kudos and support! And to RoninReverie for their help! Hope you guys enjoy! Xxxxxxxxxx

At first Nathalie thought it was her eyes straining without her glasses until she heard the cries of confusion from her kidnappers.

“It must be another of those damn akuma attack.” John said as the world around them turned to one of black and white. “At least it will keep the cops and those superheroes off our backs.”

Nathalie allowed herself a secret smile. Her kidnappers were so screwed.

“I would let me go if I were you. You don’t want to get on the wrong side my boss. He is a very powerful man.”

John hmphed.

“I know that sweetheart. Why do you think we kidnapped you?”

Nathalie was careful to hide her emotions. Oh, they had no idea how powerful her boss could be.

…………………….

Eventually Chat Noir and Ladybug arrived at where the suspected akuma villain was last seen. This area of the city was a lot more derelict with abandoned houses that had smashed windows and were covered in cardboard. Again, Chat Noir thought this was strange for Hawk Moth. Usually he targeted Paris’ most well-known locations to attract their attention.

“Maybe he’s planning a sneak attack?” He suggested.

“Maybe.” Ladybug said although she didn’t seem convinced either. Not that they had any other ideas. “Come on let’s keep looking, Alya’s blog spotted him here only a few minutes ago. He’s got to be around here somewhere.”

Chat tried to concentrate as they searched the area, but his thoughts kept circling back to Nathalie. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad had happened to her. It had crossed his mind that maybe she was the akuma victim. But he doubted that since she had been missing all day while the villain had only shown up now and besides his appearance didn’t appear to match Nathalie’s. Every minute they spent searching for this villain that apparently didn’t want to be found was time they could have spent finding her. He hoped that by the time they did defeat this man it wouldn’t be too late.

“There!” Ladybug shouted waking him out of his thoughts. His eyes followed where her finger was pointed to spot a square shaped shadow walking along the sunlit street below. The pair jumped in front of him.

“It’s over ….err …. whatever your name is!” Chat Noir cried.

“The name is Cœur l’fantôme. And I don’t have time for this.” He said, his voice sounding like he’d smoked an entire pack of cigars or that he hadn’t used it in a long time. Instead of fighting them he moved to the side of the street where it was in darkness. As soon as he touched the shadow, his body seemed to melt into it as though he was becoming part of it until he disappeared.

“Well that was odd.” Chat Noir stated. Hawk Moth himself might be a coward, always hiding… wherever he was hiding. But he had no issues sending out his minions to do his dirty work. Why would he have them run away?

“Maybe whoever Cœur l’fantôme really is, isn’t following Hawk Moth’s orders and is instead doing what he wants.” Ladybug suggested, although people weren’t usually able to resist Hawk Moth’s orders for that long. Eventually they all tried to assist him in getting their Miraculous. So why wasn’t he? Unless…

“Maybe he wants something other than our Miraculous?” Ladybug said. Chat smiled. He loved it when she finished his thoughts.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know.” Ladybug sighed before closing her fist in determination. “But we have to stop him before he gets it.”

………………..

“I’m telling you Alya it’s too dangerous. And besides Ladybug and Chat Noir are here now.” Nino said, pointing at the superheroes leaping across the nearby rooftops.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah but they didn’t defeat him, and I think they’ve lost track of him again.”

Nino stared back up at the two heroes to realise that their directions did seem to be random.

“Come on.” Alya said “let’s try to help them find him. And if I do get into trouble I know that you’ll be there to protect me.”

“But what if I can’t’!” Nino cried the frustration he’d felt since her sister had been akumatized tumbling out. He turned away unable to look at her, afraid that he would see her disappointment. “The only reason I was able to save you that day was because of my Miraculous. Without it I’m useless. I can’t protect you.”

“Hey.” Alya said gently. She walked around to his front then cupped his chin to make him look her in the eye. “You are not useless. You are an incredible friend, DJ and boyfriend. And I know that Miraculous or not, you would do everything you could to help me. Just as I would do anything to help you.”

Nino placed his hand over hers.

“Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

He then brought his forehead closer until it was pressed against hers.

“I love you.” He said out loud for the first time.

Her eyes widened briefly before she nuzzled her nose against his.

“I love you too.”

The pair shared a kiss that made the world feel like it was in colour again.

“Come on.” Alya said. “The sooner we track this guy down, the sooner we can get can back to our date.”

Nino smiled. He liked that plan.

………………….

They had been searching from the surrounding rooftops for a while when Chat Noir suggested they checked the Ladyblog again.

Ladybug opened it up on her yo-yo. The blog’s last update was from a few seconds ago of a blurred picture of what looked like Cœur l’fantôme. Chat recognised the building behind the man from the street they’d just passed.

The pair raced back there to find him staring at something on the floor of the street. Chat smiled. Finally, they had him.

“It’s over Cœur l’fantôme. Whatever game you’re playing we’re not interested in being players. So we will stop you before you reach your endgame.” Ladybug cried.

…………………….

Gabriel growled. Ladybug and Chat Noir would never understand that the end outweighs the means. They were too stubbornly stuck in their own world of black and white to realise that all he was trying to do was save the people he cared about.

For a moment the thought materialised in his mind that he could ask the pair for help but he quickly dissipated it. Using them would only attract more attention which could put Nathalie in danger. Not that he trusted them or their competence for a second. And besides asking them for help to rescue Gabriel Agrestte’s assistant would be an unmissable clue to her secret identity.

He concluded that he wouldn’t be able to save Nathalie with these two brats in the way. This left him no choice but to take them out of the picture. He smiled to himself. That wasn’t a bad price to pay.

…………………….

Chat was worried Cœur l’fantôme was going to run away again when he looked up the reveal the pasty white face hidden beneath his wide rimmed hat who’s painted lips peeled back into a challenging snarl. He then charged towards them.

Chat Noir and Ladybug got into their battle stances b=prepared for the oncoming attack. However, when he was only a few feet away Cœur l’fantôme jumped into the shadow next to them and disappeared.

“Where did he go?” Ladybug exclaimed.

Chat was about to answer when someone punched his cheek from the side. It felt like the full force of the building next to him had crashed into him. He flew across the street into the house opposite. If it wasn’t for his superpowers he’d be dead. He stood up on shaking feet and briefly saw the arm of Cœur l’fantôme standing near to where he’d been before he disappeared back into the shadows.

“Are you alright?” Ladybug asked rushing over to him. She brought her hand up as though to cup his injured cheek before she seemed to realise what she was doing and hastily pulled it back to her side.

“Just a lucky hit m’lady.” He said, smiling regardless of the stinging pain it caused him. He tried to not think about what almost happened and instead focus on how to defeat this villain.

Before he could suggest anything Cœur l’fantôme reappeared from shadows and sprinted across the path of light. He swiped the bottom of his coat across ladybug’s legs causing her to fall. Chat caught her before she could hit the ground. He missed the man disappear as he stared into Ladybug’s beautiful blue eyes.

“What’s the matter kitty cat? Cat got your tongue?” Ladybug asked. It was only then that he realised that he had been staring at her in his arms for several minutes.

“Sorry. I guess that punch hit me harder than I thought.” He lied as he helped set her upright.

“Are you sure you’re ok?”

“I’ll feel a lot better once we beat this guy.”

“Then let’s- look out!”

Ladybug pushed him to the side as Cœur l’fantôme appeared from the shadows again. He managed to catch her arm sending her spinning. He helped her to stand on shaking legs as she clutched her arm.

“M’lady, are you-“

“I’m fine. Let’s go back to back so he there’s less chance of him landing a hit.”

Chat Noir nodded and stood behind his lady’ back. He wasn’t going to let anything get part him.

Suddenly Cœur l’fantôme leap out of the shadows in front of him. As he dodged he felt ladybug feel him moving and dodged too. The man missed them and hit the sunlit house behind them. The impact sent cracks fissuring up the already weak building.

Realising that he was out of the shadows they charged towards him. But at the last second the man jumped out of the way sending them straight into the house. It was too much for the wall to take and they had to leap out of the way to avoid the falling bricks. Once the dust had settled they looked for Cœur l’fantôme but in that time he had already disappeared.


	4. chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to all of you guys support for this story! And again thanks to RoninREverie for their help with this story! I hope that you guys like what I have in store! xxxxxxxx

Nathalie could feel the unmistakable localised quakes of someone akumatized nearby. Usually the sensation caused her a feeling of rejection or muted pride. But today it only brought her hope.

“What’s that racket? It’s worse than one of Jagged Stone’s concerts.” John said. He looked up the news using her iPad. Nathalie was briefly glad that she was restrained otherwise she wasn’t sure what she would have done to keep his dirty fingers off it.

“Looks like Ladybrat and her pet are fighting another one of those freaks again.”

Nathalie managed to keep the outside of her body void of emotion, but inside she felt her heartbreak. She had thought Gabriel was using his powers to rescue her. However, he was just trying to steal the Miraculous again. She didn’t know why she was surprised. Of course, her being kidnapped wouldn’t have stopped him from trying to achieve his goal. Of course, his dead wife’s life was more important than hers. Of course, he didn’t care enough about her to save her. Unlike her, who had risked everything to save him.

…………………

Ladybug and Chat Noir continued to fight Cœur l’fantôme, but it was no use. Every time they came near to a hit, he would just disappear back into the shadows.

“We need to keep him in the light somehow!” Ladybug shouted as they dodged another blow.

“Now would be the purr-fect time for your lucky charm to give us some ideas m’lady.”

She nodded before throwing her yo-yo into the air.

“A disco ball?” Chat Noir asked as one appeared in amidst the hearts and sparkles. Ladybug looked as confused as he did until she stared at him and a building on the street causing her eyes to light up.

“Follow me and be ready.” She told him.

He saluted her as he tailed her into the building. Like many of the others along the street, it was abandoned of people and belongings, with boarded up windows and walls that looked like they would fall if you so much as breathed on them. The ceiling of the next floor had caved in leaving only the roof above them

 “When I give the signal, I need you to use your cataclysm on the roof and throw your pole so it’s across the ceiling.” Ladybug whispered into his ear as they crept to the corner of the room.

Before he could ask why, she signalled for him to be quiet. He followed her eyes to doorway as the door slowly opened and closed by itself.

“Now!” Ladybug yelled as she positioned herself in front of the door.

“Cataclysm!” he shouted as he used his abilities to jump up to the roof. As his claws scrapped the tile, it disintegrated into a thousand flakes of dust. When he started to fall back down he threw his staff so that it elongated to fit across the wall. While he did that, Ladybug threw the disco ball so that the chain caught on the stick and hung from it. The ball caught the sun and spread the light so that it illuminated every inch of the house. With no shadows to hide in, Cœur l’fantôme became visible again. And with all the windows boarded up and ladybug blocking the door, he was trapped.

Chat Noir landed on all fours next to his lady.

“It’s over now, surrender!” He shouted. But Cœur l’fantôme’s unnatural white face only snarled in response.

“I don’t need powers to take care of you two pests!”

The man lunged a punch at him. Chat managed to block it, but the impact still hurt. Whoever this person was, they were naturally very strong. Cœur l’fantôme aimed another hit which he avoided. Chat used a punch of his own on his stomach but he barley reacted to it. Still he drove the fight away from where ladybug was blocking the door so that he didn’t escape forcing them back to square one.

He heard his miraculous beep as he dodged anther kick. They needed to finish this fight soon so that their identities weren’t revealed. And so they could save Nathalie. The thought spurred him on and in a burst of energy he was able to sweep the villain off his feet. Instinctively Ladybug raced over and tied him up in her yo-yo before he could recover. Cœur l’fantôme tried to escape, but even he wasn’t strong enough to break its magical strength.

“Can you see his akuma?” Ladybug asked.

In the gleam of the sunlight Chat noticed something shining under his hat. He took it off to reveal a purple earpiece that didn’t seem to fit the villain’s overall aesthetic. he removed it and crushed it in his palm. An indigo butterfly emerged from the pieces. Now that the threat was over, ladybug untangled Cœur l’fantôme from her yo-yo and used it to cleanse the butterfly from Hawk Moth’s evil. Hearts flew around the city, turning the world back into colour and fixing the buildings together.

“Pound it!” Ladybug and Chat Noir cried sharing a fist bump as Cœur l’fantôme’s costume disappeared. They heard the man groan behind them. When they looked down, they saw a large man with greying hair staring at the deteriorating building surrounding them in confusion.

 “It’s alright.” Ladybug said gently, kneeling down besides the man. “You were akumatized. But you’re free now.”

“I can’t believe we missed it!”

Ladybug quickly spun round to find Alya and Nino standing in the doorway. The pair came hurrying over to them. But Chat was oblivious to their presence. All he could do was to stare frozen in shock at the man in front of him.

“Are you alright?” Ladybug asked, noticing his unusual behaviour.

“I know him.” He said, amazed at how steady his voice sounded. “That’s Adrien’s bodyguard Gorilla. He must have been akumatized because he was worried about Nathalie. Hawk Moth then promised him he’d give him the power to find her which is why he embodied a noir detective and he tracked her to somewhere near here.”

“Nathalie? Wait, you don’t mean Nathalie Sancœur do you?” Nino asked.

Chat nodded, trying to appear professional whilst his head spun with all the dangerous possibilities that could have happened to her whilst they’d been fighting.

“Yes. She’s been missing all day.”

Nino’s fists clenched in determination.

“That woman’s the closest thing my best bud has to a mum. I’ll do anything I can to help you find her.”

“Me too.” Alya said, slipping her hand around is wrist.

Chat smiled gratefully, wishing that he could tell them how much their words meant to him.

He was distracted from his thoughts as his and Ladybug’s Miraculous beeped once again. The pair looked at each other, silently agreeing on a plan.

“You two head over to Nathalie’s apartment and see what you can find.” Ladybug said to Nino and Alya. “Me and Chat Noir will re-charge then search around here for her.”

“You can count on us Ladybug!” Alya cried as Nino saluted. Chat told them the address before they off in the direction of Nathalie’s apartment.

Ladybug then turned towards him.

“My Miraculous is more charged than yours so I’ll take this gentleman someplace safe. And once were ready we can meet up back here.”

“A brilliant plan as usual m’lady.”

With a nod the pair went their separate ways.

 

………………………….

 

Hawk Moth had never hated those superheroes more until this very moment.

Their little escapades had become more than annoying distractions towards his goal. Now they could be responsible for Nathalie’s death. And if the worst happened, he wouldn’t be able to use his wish to bring both women back.

He threw his cane against the window, smashing the already cracked pane to create a larger hole. He wasn’t used to these emotions. He hadn’t felt them in a long time. Since Emilie’s death, he hadn’t been able to focus on anything except doing whatever it took to bring her back. Including being too busy to notice his assistant whom he only now had begun to realise meant so much more than that to him.

He walked over to pick up his cane where it lay beneath what remained of the window. It was obvious now that he couldn’t put Nathalie’s life in the hands of his minions. No, this was something he had to do himself.

…………………

Chat Noir was on his lowest bar of energy as he dropped down behind one of the nearby buildings. He’d seen Ladybug head in the opposite direction with Gorilla whilst Nino dragged Alya away, so she couldn’t try to discover their secret identities. He was about to transform back when he felt his phone ring. He opened it up to see that his father was calling. He stared at the phone in shock. He couldn’t remember the last time his father had called him directly. Whatever the call was about it must be serious. _Maybe he found Nathalie_? He hoped as he answered it.

“Adrien.” His Father spoke, avoiding pleasantries as usual. “There has still been no sign of Nathalie and Gorilla is not responding to my calls.”

He neglected to tell his Father the reason for Gorilla’s lack of response.

“I’m going out to search for her myself. Stay in your room. I don’t want anything to happen to you to.”

“I will Father.” He said, his heart soaring at the rare display of affection directed at him and Nathalie. “Good luck.”

As his Father hung up, he felt his costume and powers fade away. He looked up to see Plagg floating in front of him, the kwami’s face full of concern that he usually tried to hide.

“Come on, the quicker we recharge the quicker we can find Nathalie. Before Father gets himself in danger looking for her.” Adrien said, refusing to look Plagg in the eye. The kwami knew that without his Father or Nathalie he would have no one. Not that there would be any shortage people willing to take in the famous, rich, child model who now own a multi-million-euro company. Plagg ate up the slice of cheese, willing to do anything to help his partner.

……………….

 


	5. chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N So this is going to be the last chapter. Sorry it's late. I had two assignments due so I'd been devoting most of my energy to them and this chapter ended up being longer than all of my other ones anyway. Again thank you for all your favourites, follows, comments and support. And special thanks to RoninReverie who without their help this fic might not even exist. I hope you enjoy the final chapter! XXXXXXXXXXX

Nathalie watched anxiously as John paced across the room. It had been hours now since he had called Gabriel and she could tell that he was getting restless.

“Call him again!” John shouted, throwing the tablet to one of his goons who hurried to catch it. Despite knowing it was impossible, she tried to back away as he marched over to her. He grinned as he flexed his fingers in preparation for her beating. He stood stoically in front of her as he waited for them to give him the signal, but it never came.

“Are you calling him or not?” He demanded, his grin contorting into a snarl.

“Were trying boss,” One of them answered sheepishly. “But he ain’t picking up.”

For a moment the snarl remained until his eyes lighted up in perverted glee.

“Well then, I guess we’re just going to have to leave a message then aren’t we?”

She managed to hold in her groan as he punched her in the stomach once again. His fists felt like they almost broke through to her spine. His second punch hit her right in the gut and it took all of her strength not to vomit. He kept punching her until the length of the voice mail was full by which point she had given up trying to contain her cries of pain.

Afterwards John brought his hand to her cheek to wipe away the tears that had started rolling down her cheeks. She imagined biting off his fingers.

“Don’t worry sweetheart. All this will be over soon. One way or another.”

………………………..

Once his kwami was well fed, Adrien transformed back into Chat Noir. He headed straight back to the roof of the abandoned building they were in earlier. A couple of minutes later Ladybug showed up. He had never been so glad to see her. Now they could finally start searching for Nathalie.

“I took Gorilla to a nearby bus station. He should be safe there.” She told him.

“That’s good.” Chat sighed, relived that he had one less person whom he considered family to worry about. “We should call Alya and Nino to see if they’ve found anything at Nathalie’s apartment yet.”

Ladybug nodded and called them up on her yo-yo. After a few rings Nino answered.

“Sup dude and dudette. We’re at Nathalie’s place right now and -woah…”

“What happened? What’s wrong?” Chat asked, taking the phone from Ladybug. His breathing was so fast he could hardly hear the rest of what Nino said.

“Bro… This place is totally totalled! The door is broken in and it looks like an elephant has been set loose in here.”

He was too frozen to react when Ladybug stole her yo-yo back.

“Thank you for all your help. Now get somewhere safe. Whoever did this to Nathalie’s apartment may still be around.” She said to them. She ended the call before they could respond. Not that Chat noticed. He was too busy having a panic attack.

“Chat calm down.” Ladybug told him, her voice the steady rock he needed to bring himself back to shore. “Don’t worry we’ll find your friend.”

That line immediately set him into a different type of panic.

“ _What?”_

“It’s ok. I figured it out.” Her calmness was in complete contrast to him. “You don’t really know Adrien Agreste, do you? Your friends with Nathalie in your civilian life.”

He sighed. A myriad of emotions leaving his body once he realised that she hadn’t figured out his secret identity. “Yeah you’re right. I’ve never spoken to Adrien Agreste in my life. Nathalie is someone I care a lot about. Although she doesn’t know I’m Chat Noir. I’m sorry for not telling you. I didn’t want you to think that I was being selfish.”

“Hey.” Ladybug said gently whilst stroking the locks of his hair behind his cat ear the way he liked it. “Caring about the people in your life is one of the least selfish things you can do.”

In his emotional state it was impossible for him not to nuzzle her hand. He was glad when she smiled at his cat-like display of happiness. Eventually she took her hand away from him and immediately he missed the contact.

“Come one. Let’s find Nath- “

She was interrupted by a large crash from nearby. Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a look. There was no need to speak as the pair headed off in that direction.

…………………..

Hawk Moth pulled up the hood of his large coat. He’d had it made ages ago in case he ever needed to sneak out as Hawk Moth. Up until now, he had never had a reason to use it. Luckily there wasn’t many people around, and those that were paid him little attention as they hurried to accomplish what they had missed during the akuma attack.

Eventually he made it to where his minion had managed to track Nathalie. He had followed the tire tracks left by the van in its hurry to take her. That was until those meddlesome superheroes interrupted him. Now it was up to Hawk Moth to continue following them himself. They lead him to a van, parked behind an abandoned house on a desolate street. The perfect place to hold someone hostage.

Cautiously, he searched the house, but he couldn’t find Nathalie anywhere. Then he heard a screech of pain from bellow him. He ran back into what used to be the kitchen to find a hatch hidden by cardboard in the floor. Not wasting any time, he opened it and raced down the stairs to find himself in a basement.

At the bottom of the stairs he froze at the sight in front of him, Nathalie tied to chair whilst a man too lost in his joy to notice him, repeatedly back handed her across the face. Eventually the man he recognised as John noticed his presence.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked, abandoning her to walk towards him. _Good_ Hawk Moth thought, _at least his focus was no longer on Nathalie_. He then let his coat drop to the floor. Immediately all of the kidnapper’s eyes widened in fear.

“I think you know who I am.” He stated.

Their leader John was the first to recover.

“You know, I think the criminal underworld will be very impressed with me if I managed to kill the most notorious supervillain in all of Paris. It would certainly open up my market for new job opportunities. Shoot him!”

His pair of goons open fired at Hawk Moth. But he just deflected the bullets with his sword staff, sending them back across the room. Until finally their guns ran out of ammunition. The pair stared at him in unbridled terror and a moment later ran past him back up the basement stairs.

“Get back here you cheapskates! Or I’m taking away your bonuses!” John yelled after them, but they didn’t listen.

Furious, John turned his attention to Hawk Moth.

“I guess we’re going to have to finish this the old-fashioned way then?”

He put his balled hands up in front of him. Not a second later, he lunged at Hawk Moth who easily dodged him. The thug aimed another hit, but this time Hawk Moth hit the back of his head with his cane. This only made John angrier just as Hawk Moth predicted. When he tried to hit him again, he smacked his forehead with his cane and swiped it under his legs so that he fell over. Before he could try to get up Hawk Moth had the point of his cane millimetres above his neck.

“Leave.” He ordered.

Knowing that he was beaten, John nodded, for once speechless. Although that didn’t stop him from sending Hawk Moth a rude gesture as he tripped in his haste to leave.

But Hawk Moth ignored him, his focus entirely on Nathalie. Without the distraction of her kidnappers he could fully take in the extent of her injuries. What he saw only made him wish he’d beaten them up for longer. Her face was inflamed from the constant smacks, her top had been shredded at her stomach from all the impacts and every part of her skin that was visibly was either red or turning a death like blue.

Slowly he walked towards her, almost afraid that if he went any faster she would shatter like porcelain doll. Her eyes and mouth were open wide as she stared up at his approaching figure.

Once he reached her, he lifted up his hand to brush her hair, that had fallen out of its usual bun, back into place behind her eye.

……………………

Ladybug and Chat Noir found the source of the commotion to be a nearby house, its disintegrating state much like the others on the street. They crept inside and noticed that the hatch to the basement was open. They peaked through the opening. For the second time that day, Chat Noir was completely frozen.

Inside was Nathalie, her body beaten and tied to a chair, with her eyes wide as she stared at Hawk Moth standing above her.

“Hawk Moth was the one who kidnapped her? But why?” Ladybug whispered in confution before her eyes lit up. “Wait, do you remember that book I told you about with information on all the previous Miraculous superheroes? Well Gabriel Agreste had a copy of it. So maybe that’s why he took her, to hold her as a hostage.”

But Chat Noir wasn’t listening. All he could do was stare at the nightmare in front of him. That was until he noticed Hawk Moth bring his hand up towards Nathalie as though to touch her cheek. And for a moment his green eyes saw red.

“Get your dirty hands off her!” He threw his staff so it smacked Hawk Moth’s hand away.

He caught his staff as he and Ladybug jumped to the bottom of the basement stairs. When Chat Noir looked into his eyes he had never such contempt from one person.

“Let her go Hawk Moth! We know what you want!” Ladybug shouted. Chat Noir hissed at him, prepared to do anything to keep Hawk Moth away from Nathalie.

“Do you?”

If Chat didn’t know any better, he would say the supervillain was being sarcastic.

“Yes! Gabriel Agreste’s book. And will not let you have it or Ms Sancoeur!”

A flicker of emotions crossed Hawk Moth’s face. Chat assumed it was anger at his plan getting discovered. That only made his own anger grow even more.

“Chat Noir wait!” Ladybug shouted but he didn’t listen. He went straight for Hawk Moth. Their staff’s clashed, the impact vibrating throughout the small room. He pushed back with all his might, but Hawk Moth matched his strength. The villain felt even stronger then the last time they’d fought. Maybe he’d gained new power. Although for some reason Chat had a feeling it was because of something else.

Suddenly he fell to the ground as Hawk Moth kicked him in the leg. He growled up at the man. Of course, Hawk Moth would resort to dirty tricks. When he looked up he saw that Hawk Moth had his cane raise to come crashing down onto his head. But before he could receive the blow Ladybug had his cane wrapped around the strings of her yo-yo, snatching it from his hands. Chat leaped out of range to his Lady’s side.

“Give it Hawk Moth! There’s two of us and one of you! And we are not going to let you go after what you did to Nathalie!” He screamed.

“Is that so?” Hawk Moth replied.

Before Chat even had time to think, the basement was swarmed by butterflies. They were everywhere, in his eyes, in his mouth, in his clothes. It was a though he was drowning. A few moments later they all diapered back through the hatch.

Ladybug raced up the stairs after Hawk Moth, the cane no longer in her hand. But Chat Noir headed straight to Nathalie, ashamed that he’d let his anger at Hawk Moth take control instead of checking on her first.

Up close, he could clearly see the extent of her injuries. It made him want to be sick.

“Are you alright?” He asked, quickly yet carefully breaking the ropes around her body with his claws. He needed her to be freed as soon as possible.

“Yes, I am fine.” The sound of her professional persona directed towards him hurt a little. He tried not to let it distract him. Eventually all the ropes were broken. As soon as she was free, he helped her to her unsteady feet.

“We can take you to a hospital if you like?” He offered. But Nathalie shook her head.

“That is unnecessary. I can call a college of mine to take me home.”

Before Chat could argue, Ladybug then came running back down the stairs.

“Hawk Moth’s gone. I searched the streets nearby, but I couldn’t find him.”

“I’m sorry Hawk Moth got away.” Nathalie said.

“It’s doesn’t matter. The important thing is that your safe now.” Chat told her. He wanted nothing ,more than to hold her tightly in his arms. It broke his heart to not be able to offer her any comfort without revealing his secret identity.

Nathalie nodded. “Thank you, Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“Just doing our duty mam.”

The pair walked her out of the building. And when she refused to let them take her to the hospital again, they told her where Gorilla was so that he could take her home.

“Pound it!” They cried as they watched her go from the rooftops. Although there wasn’t much cause for celebration. Hawk Moth had gotten away again, and today’s events had just led to even more unanswered questions. But with their miraculous becoming low on charge again and a cat in need of getting home before Nathalie and his Father got back, they decided that these questions could wait for another day.

………………….

Nathalie slowly walked up the steps to the Agreste Manor, Gorilla hovering close to her side. It felt like years since she had been there despite her only being there yesterday. She knew she should have gone back to her apartment but if she was being honest with herself, this mansion had become what she considered home. Gorilla unattached himself from her side to open the front door. He’d barley opened it halfway when a force came barrelling out of the house towards her. she was nearly knocked over as Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You’re back!” He cried, his words muffled by him pressing his face into her shoulder. She stood still for a moment until her body seemed to move of its own accord, one arm wrapped around his back whilst the other stroked his golden locks like Emilie used to do. She closed her eyes, as she pressed her jaw against his hair.

“Yes I am. And I am never going to leave you again.” She promised. Somehow, he held her even tighter.

When she let him go, she opened her eyes to find Gabriel Agreste walking towards her. He was back in his civilian outfit and as usual his expression was indecipherable.

“ _Gabriel_ …” She breathed, unsure if she was speaking in relief, questioning or want. Maybe it was the sight of him or maybe her exhaustion had finally overtaken her, but she felt her legs crumble beneath her. Before she could hit the floor, a pair of strong arms caught her. It took her a second to realise that they were Gabriel’s.

“We should take you to the hospital.” Adrien said.

There was mothing strangely familiar about his words. But she didn’t dwell on it as Gabriel dismissed his suggestion.

“There is no need. I will call for my personal doctor to see.”

She quickly turned her head towards him, the action making her mind swim.

“That is unnecessary sir.”

“Nonsense. Gorilla send for him immediately. And by the way you are no longer fired.”

Gorilla grunted in affirmation, despite his slightly hesitant nod as though he couldn’t remember being fired in the first place. Something that Nathalie wasn’t aware of either. But before she could ask about it, Gabriel picked her up in his arms, just like he did all those months ago. And suddenly, not her injuries, or the meetings she’d missed or the fact that she was being carried by her boss seemed to matter anymore. All that mattered was him.

He carried her upstairs to his study before gently placing her in his chair. The similarities to that night made her head swim all over again. Maybe it was a good idea to call the doctor for her after all.

“ _Nathalie_.”

She looked up to see Gabriel standing above her, his hand slowly reaching out towards her. the image was the exact same as in the basement. Except that now, without his costume the cracks filled with dried blood were now visible on his hand.

“What happened to your hand? It needs to be bandaged.” She said, her mind immediately cataloguing whether they had one in the first aid kit.

“You’re still worrying about me after all you’ve been through.” A small smile grew on his face as he finally cupped her cheek. She hadn’t seen him smile like that since Emilie died. And suddenly it was all too much. She stood up, despite her shaking she was able to remain upright and returned herself to the emotionless costume she always wore.

“Of course, I am. It’s my job.”

“Of course.” Gabriel said unable to hide his disappointment at her words as he took his hand away. That didn’t stop him from looking at her with heavy eyes.

“I thought I might lose you.” He sighed.

“You are never going to lose me. I will always be at your side.” For once she was glad of the Agreste male trait of not being able to recognise displays of affection from the opposite sex.

“I know. And to make certain of it…” Gabriel walked over to the photo of Emilie on his shelf. Nathalie couldn’t see his expression as he stood for a while in front of it, until eventually he picked something up and walked back over to her. he held out his hand in front of her. in his palm was the peacock miraculous.

“Are you sure?” She asked, knowing how much this meant to him.

His light blue eyes looked into her own dull blue ones.

“Yes.”

Slowly she took the miraculous from his palm. As soon as it was back in her hand she felt the familiar surge of power embrace her, as though it was back where it belonged. She clipped the broach onto her blazer before looking back at Gabriel.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you. For everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Then he hugged her. For a second it didn’t feel real. She’d dreamed about it for so long at first, she thought she’d finally slipped into unconsciousness. But no, the warmth from his body as he pressed against her was very real. Slowly, she brought her arms around his neck to complete the embrace. His suit was soft beneath her fingers and the slightly quicken rise of his chest matched her own. She’d seen him hug Emilie before. She was shorter than she was, so she would place her face against his chest. But Nathalie was tall enough for him to tuck perfectly under his chin. Like she was designed to fit there.

They stayed like that until the doctor came.

…………………………..


End file.
